?Inspite of decades of scientific research attesting to the safety of aspartame, negative allegations about the safety of aspartame have appeared in the media and on the internet for a number of years. Some of the most common allegations and the scientific facts refuting them are as follows.
Allegation: The methanol in aspartame is toxic and is linked to numerous health problems including lupus and blindness, and also mimics multiple sclerosis
Not supported.
While methanol is a by-product of aspartame digestion, it is not foreign to the human diet. The pectin in many common foods including fruits and vegetables and their juices contains low levels of methanol and substances that are metabolised to methanol. A cup of tomato juice would provide about six times more methanol than a cup of aspartame-containing soft drink. Dietary methanol, whether it comes from aspartame or common foods, is present at levels too low to cause any health problems. It does not accumulate in the body but is metabolised through normal metabolic pathways to formaldehyde, then to formic acid and finally to water and carbon dioxide.
As the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada has stated in a Medical Update Memo available on its website at www.mssociety.ca/en/research/PC990122.htm, there has been no published peer-reviewed research supporting a link between aspartame and multiple sclerosis and no evidence of an MS "epidemic" exists.
Allegation: Aspartame is especially dangerous for diabetics
Not supported.
When the evaluation of the safety of aspartame was conducted by Health Canada, possible susceptible populations, including diabetics, were taken into consideration. Studies before and after approval of aspartame have shown that it can be used safely by people with diabetes.
A review of the available studies on aspartame and glycemic control is available in a recent publication (The Clinical Evaluation of a Food Additive: Assessment of Aspartame. 1996. Edited by C. Tschanz et al. CRC Press). The conclusion of the authors was that in five well-conducted studies, the addition of aspartame to the diabetic diet in single doses or for prolonged periods of time did not affect control of blood sugar levels. In addition, there were no effects on parameters indicative of insulin counter-regulation.
Allegation: Aspartame causes cancer and brain tumours
Not supported.
Scientists in the world-wide scientific community, including Canadian scientists, have found no link between aspartame consumption and the incidence of cancer or brain tumours from a study of the safety studies performed with aspartame.
Allegation: Aspartame causes seizures
Not supported.
Clinical studies conducted by medical researchers have shown that there is no link between aspartame consumption and seizures. One study was conducted on children and adults claiming to have experienced aspartame-induced seizures. On some days they were given a placebo and on other days they were given a large single dose of aspartame. Monitoring by EEG of their brain signals demonstrated that aspartame was no more likely to cause seizures than a placebo. Another study on children with a medical history of seizures showed that aspartame did not induce or worsen seizures in these seizure-prone subjects.
Allegation: Aspartame causes allergic reactions
Not supported."
However I have found a clinical trial on pubmed which was disbanded due to severity of adverse effects on people with mood disorders (unipolar)